Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design - History

History

Attempts were made to establish an art school in Dundee from the 1850s, and evening classes in art were taught at the High School and the YMCA with great success. A full-time art school only became a possibility following the creation of the Dundee Technical Institute in 1888. The Institute was based in Small's Wynd, now part of the University of Dundee's main campus, and shared facilities with what was then University College, Dundee.

From the start, art classes were taught at the Institute in the evenings by George Malcolm, but in 1892 Thomas Delgaty Dunn was appointed as the first full-time art master, and this is now regarded as the date of the present college's foundation.

The Technical Institute's main building, designed by J Murray Robertson, soon became inadequate, particularly when the High School and YMCA art classes were amalgamated with those of the Institute. A fund-raising campaign was launched in 1907 and in 1911 the Institute moved to new and much grander premises on Bell Street, designed by Robert Gibson and James Langlands, where it re-opened as Dundee Technical College & School of Art. A further incentive to the development of the school had come in 1909 with the bequest of £60,000 by James Duncan of Jordanstone to establishment of an independent art school in the city. A lengthy legal battle ensued as to whether the existing college could spend the money, and it was not until the 1930s that an agreement was reached whereby the College was reorganised as Dundee Institute of Art & Technology, the College of Art to be autonomously run on a separate site away from the Technical College. A site was chosen and plans drawn up by architect James Wallace in 1937, but due to delays largely caused by the war construction did not begin until 1953. Classes began in what is now called the Crawford Building in 1955, though it would not be completed until 1964.

The College did not become entirely independent of the Institute of Technology (now the University of Abertay) until 1975, when it was officially renamed Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art (though it had been known as such unofficially for many years). By that time it has expanded into a new building next door(now called the Matthew Building, designed by Baxter Clark & Paul). The College remained independent until 1994, when it became part of the University of Dundee. Over time Duncan of Jordanstone has built up strong academic links with other disciplines in the University, manifested in joint programmes such as Digital Interaction Design and Product Design. In 2006 it became more fully integrated in the University as part of the College of Art, Science and Engineering.